With no definitive origins, Aetyton is a common Alorian gemstone discovered by most races at different stages of their development. Aetyton is hollow in appearance, and always carries a murky brown colour. While it has no other direct uses besides decoration or coarse jewellery, it is common knowledge that Old Gods and Oldt Fayth worshippers believe the stone possesses the power to heighten fertility and ease pregnancy. It is now seen to many as a rather dull gem, but to others, a material whose inspires heretical beliefs that are unfounded in the religion of Unionism.

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History

Aetyton is a gemstone encountered by multiple races across the whole of Aloria at various points of their history. The Elven Empire discovered it sometime in 2000 BC, the Sariyd Empire uncovered deposits in 300 BC, the Allar mined the mineral in 600 BC, and the Ailor of Ceardia discovered the mineral well before the Cataclysm, with a rough date of 1000 BC. To all but one of these groups, the mineral enjoyed brief popularity before it was determined to be mundane, with no real abilities beyond cheap jewelry. To the Ceardian Ailor however, it somehow became heavily attached to the Oldt Fayth goddess of Balla. Supposedly, Balla herself came and presented the stone to a beautiful but infertile queen who subsequently blossomed, producing a dozen children before her death. Archeology work shows a sudden burst of popularity in the gem; multiple pieces of crude jewelry and statuary from around that period have been discovered. The Ailor came to believe it helped heighten fertility and ease pregnancy.

However, when the Ailor started being taken by the Qadir and the Elves, this belief floundered and was extinguished in many areas, but the Velheim people who came to emerge in the North Belt carried on this tradition through their belief in the Oldt Fayth. When the Old Gods religion reached them, the mineral was also deemed to be a symbol of the Union of Fire, coexisting with the Oldt Fayth belief system well, just as Old Gods as a whole does with its progenitor. This belief system, however, further decreased its popularity in non-Ailor population centers as it related to the Velheim and the old religion of Oldt Fayth or Old Gods who were now enemies to most of these centers. With the recent Burning of the North, this dislike descended into outright hatred in some areas as Aetyton idols, carvings, or jewelry were destroyed alongside other examples of Velheim art as “enemy propaganda”. Today, the gemstone may be common to find but many Old Gods and Oldt Fayth users do not openly wear it, or even dislike it, for fear of losing a symbol of their beliefs to the odd angry passerby.

Characteristics

Appearance

Aetyton has a murky brown color and appears in shallow deposits near the surface. It can be polished to a shine, is generally opaque and is not durable which is why it was so easy to destroy artwork made with it during the Burning of the North. Aetyton is also highly porous, to the point of being hollow due to large cavities inside the material.

General Uses

Aetyton serves only one purpose and that is a material in jewelry or in art to the Velheim people. The gemstone often retains its hollow nature or at least clear curvature in this art. It also appears commonly in centers or altars to the Union of Fire and either of its goddesses.

Abilities

Aetyton has no known natural abilities though those who follow the Old Gods and Oldt Fayth religions insist it heightens fertility and eases the process of childbirth. However, no investigation has been carried out by any official body into this and so it remains an old wives tale.

Trivia

The hollow nature of the gemstone is thought to emulate the womb tied to the belief in their ability.

With the sacking of the major Velheim settlement of Uëxhjert in Drixagh, Aetyton carvers are now rare to find.

The story about Balla and the queen is one of the most common scenes carved into “scene eggs”, a type of ornament created when the gemstone is cut in half and the interior is carved.